Pluto's Crust Might Have Aliens Living Underneath It - UK Scientist

When the New Horizons probe sped past Pluto last month, it gave scientists and the public an unprecedentedly detailed glimpse at its frozen surface.

But one question remains unsolved: is there an ocean beneath the dwarf planet's icy crust?

Now, according to Brain Cox Pluto’s crust could have alien life living underneath it.

Artist's rendition of the surface of Pluto. Credit: ESO

The dwarf planet’s surface is made up of a crust, which includes huge icy mountains, that is very unlikely to have anything living on it. But underneath that could be warm oceans, which might be able to support life, the physicist has said.

The New Horizons probe flew past Pluto last month, snapping photos and other readings as it went. It has sent back some of those photos — showing the dwarf planet in more detail than ever before — but will continue to do so in the coming weeks.

Cox said that the information sent back had already given hope that the planet might be able to support life.

The probe “showed you that there may well be a subsurface ocean on Pluto, which means — if our understanding of life on Earth is even slightly correct — that you could have living things there,” Cox told The Times.